Bow-facing oar



. handle he may wish to use.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

JOHN T. ANDERSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Bow-Femme OAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 420,925, dated February11, 1890.

. Application led September 6, 1889- Serial No. 323,152. (No model.)

T0 a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State ofIllinois, have invented a new and useful Bow-Facing Oar, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in bow-facing oars' for boats; andits object is to provide oars or rowing apparatus by means of which theboat may be propelled through the Water by the rower sitting facing inthe direction in which the boat is traveling; and its nature consists inthe several parts and combinations of parts, hereinafter described andclaimed in the claims as new. I attain this object by means of themechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Y Figure 1shows the entire machine,4 seen from the bow or stern of the boat, towhich it is attached, showing the handle of the oar complete and aportion of the blade. Fig. 2 shows a side view of the device with aportion of the oar attached either at the beginning or end of thestroke. Fig. 3 shows the apparatus detached from the oar and viewed fromabove, and Fig. 4 a cross-section of the upper portion of my device withportion of the oar blade and handle attached.

Similar letters refer to similar parts.

The metal socket A is fastened firmly to the gunwale B of the boat byscrews or bolts or by other appropriate fastening.

Into the socketA is firmly inserted the upright post C, which I preferto make of wood, though it may be made of any suitable material. This isfixed in the socket A in any appropriate manner, so that it will notturn therein, either by having its lower end squared and inserted into asquare hole in the socket, or otherwise. This upright is made of varyinglength to suit the size of the boat to which it may be attached, or tosuit the individual preference of the rower as to the depth to which hemay desire the blade of the oar to reach or the length of the The top ofthis upright is firmly inserted into the metal bearing-box D, havingatvits lower portion the socket D fitted for the reception of the upperend of the upright C.

This I prefer to do by making the socket D square and by squaring theupper end of the upright C and without other fastening, as by so doingif the oar-blade G strikes a rock or some other -ixed obstacle the topportion of the device will be lifted od without breaking the oar.

In the bearing-box D is placed the device shown, consist-ing of twometal tubes E E, cast with an axle E, having their inner surfacespolished to receive the tubes F F. These tubes E E are preferably castupon the axle E in such a way as to incline toward one another at aslight angle. This angle may be varied, however, at choice withoutchanging the n-ature of the device. The axle E rests in the bearing-boxD and oscillates forward and backward therein toward the bow and sternof the boat and parallel with a line drawn from the bow to the center ofthe stern.

Into the tubes E E are placed closely-fitting tubes F F, having at theirupper ends the mutilated gears F F, which mesh one into the other.

In t-he bottom of one of the outer tubes E is cut a slot Y, extendingone-quarter of its circumference, and into the bottom of the tube F isplaced the stop-pin Z, working in the slot Y, so as to prevent the tubesF F from making more than a one-quarter turn in the tubes E E. In thedrawings this stop-pin and slot are shown upon the oar-blade side of thedevice, but they mayof course be placed upon the other side.

Into the tubes F F are thrust from below the oar-blade G and oar-handleG', which are firmly xed in the tubes F F. The tubes F F are polishedupon their outer surface Where it is inside the tubes E E, so as to workeasily and smoothly therein. The pin is so arranged and fixed in theslot that when it rests against the shoulder of the slot at one endtheoar-blade is at right angles with the course of the boat.

The bow-facing oars thus constructed and placed upon the boat are Workedas follows: The oarsman seated facing the bow of the boat and graspingthe handles of the oars with the course of the boat, he pulls thehandles toward him, when the oar -blade also moves with thenl throughthe water toward the stern of the boat, urging the boat forward. At theend of the stroke the rower by a nuove nient of the wrists turns thehandle of the oar through one-quarter of a turn, being prevented frommaking a greater turn by the stop-pin and slot. This turn iscommunicated by the mutilated gears F' and F to the oar-blade, which isthus feathered in the water. The rower then thrusts the handle forward,urging with it the oar-blade thus feathered through the recover throughthe water to the beginning of the new stroke.

I ain aware that bow-facing oars workin g by a system of levers haveheretofore been made, and I do not therefore claim bow-facing oarsbroadly.

That I do claim is- 1. In apparatus for bow-facing oars, the oar dividedinto two parts, the blade and handle, inserted at their respective upperends into tubes provided with mutilated interineshing gears at theirrespective upper ends and working in outer tubes fixed rigidly so as toincline toward one another at an angle on an axle working in abearing-box, substantially as described, and for the use and purposesset forth.

2. In bow-facing oars, the combination, with the divided oar, consistingof the blade G and handle G', of the tubes F F, into which the upperends of the blade and handle, respectively, are inserted, and having attheir upper ends theinutilated gears F' and F", the outer tubes E E, inwhich said tubes F F turn, in-

clined at an angle with one another and connected rigidly by the axleE', and the bearing-box D, in which said axle l' turns, substantially asdescribed, and for the uses and purposes set forth.

In bow-facing oars, the combination, with the divided oar, consisting ofblade G and handle G', of the tubes F F, into which the upper ends ofthe blade and handle, respectively, are inserted, and having at theirupper ends the mutilated gears F' F' the outer tubes E E, in which saidtubes F F turn, inclined at an angle with one another and conhandle Gr',of the tubes F F, into which the 6o upper ends of the blade and handle,respectively, are inserted, and having at their upper ends the mutilatedgears F' and F", the outer tubes E E, in which the tubes F F turn, in-

clined at an angle with one another and eonnected rigidly by the axleE', the bearing-box D, in which the axle E' turns, the socket D', castor otherwise constructed upon the lower portion of the bearing-box D,the upright C, which is inserted at its upper end into the socket D',and the socket A, into which thc lower end of the upright C is insertedand which is fastened to the gunwalc B of the boat, substantially asdescribed, and for the uses and purposes set forth.

5. In bow-facing oars, the combination, with the divided oar, consistingof blade G and handle G', of the tubes F F, into which the upper ends ofthe blade and handle, respectively, are inserted, and having at theirupper ends the inutilatcd gears F' and F", and provided with thestop-pin Z, workin g in the slot Y in the ou ter tube E, the Outer tubesE E, in which the tubes F F turn, inclined at an angle with one anotherand connected rigidly by the axle E', the bearing-box D, in which theaxle E' turns, the socket D', cast or otherwise constructed upon thelower portion of the bearing-box D, the upright C, which is inserted atits upper end into the socket D', and the socket A, into which the lowerend of the upright C inserted, and which is fastened to the gunwale l;of the boat, substantially as dedescribed, and 'for the uses andpurposes set forth.

l JOHN T. ANDERSON.

In presence of Y Curtains E. Vlekken, Gutn'ien F. Tnt/rv.

